Purim is a time to feast and celebrate—and drink! These five original cocktails (including one mocktail!), correspond to different elements in the Purim story and will get you in the holiday spirit in no time.
Joy and Celebration
Makes two drinks
Give this cocktail to friends and family as part of the Purim mitzvah of mishloach manot (gift baskets). Split the finished drink into two eight-ounce mason jars and refrigerate to chill. Label one jar “Joy” and the other “Celebration.”
3 ounces Grand Poppy Liqueur
1 ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice
¾ ounces Genever (a Dutch grain-based spirit)
1 ounce simple syrup
1 ounce cold water
Orange slices, for garnish
Add everything to a shaker; pour ingredients from one half of the tin to the other, or close the tin and shake it just enough to mix everything together.
Granted and Fulfilled
Serves 15-20
This cocktail represents Esther’s grand idea of holding a wine feast for the king so that she might tell him of Haman’s plan and plead for her people’s lives. This batch serves a group, so invite some friends to celebrate!
One apple, sliced
One pear, sliced
2.5 bottles inexpensive red wine (if you have some open already, feel free to use it, as it doesn’t need to be fresh)
16 ounces blueberry-pomegranate juice (like R.W. Knudsen Family Organic Blueberry Pomegranate)
Juice of one orange, hand-squeezed
Juice of one lemon, hand-squeezed
6 ounces maple syrup
6 ounces Leopold Bros. Georgia Peach Whiskey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 small handful whole allspice
3 whole cinnamon sticks (plus 15-20 additional, for garnish)
Orange slices, for garnish
Place fruit in large saucepan or crockpot, leaving out two apple slices (save these for 127 Provinces, below). Add remaining ingredients and stir to mix. Warm to medium heat, then serve. Garnish each glass with a cinnamon stick and an orange slice.
The King’s Ring
Makes one drink
This drink is inspired by the king giving his royal ring to Mordechai so that he might decree the protection of his people.
1.5 ounces bourbon (like Old Williamsburg Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, which is kosher and organic)
½ ounce lemon juice
¾ ounce simple syrup
1 egg white
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Ice
Red wine (left over from Granted and Fulfilled, above)
Add everything to a shaker and shake to integrate ingredients. Add ice and shake again. Strain into glass. Pour a little red wine over the back of a spoon into the glass to form a floating ring.
127 Provinces
Makes one drink
According to Persian law, it was impossible to change a decree stamped with the royal seal, so the king couldn’t cancel the decree against the Jews. But he gave Mordechai the royal ring to issue a new decree to the 127 provinces in the kingdom to save the Jews. This recipe also alludes to the taxes people often paid in silver, or crops like flax and grains if they didn’t have silver.
1.5 ounces silver tequila
2 ounces blueberry-pomegranate juice (like R.W. Knudsen Family Organic Blueberry Pomegranate)
1.5 ounces lime syrup (make by adding the juice of one lime to 1 ounce simple syrup)
Ice
2 apple slices, for garnish (from Granted and Fulfilled)
Flax or chia seeds, for garnish
Toothpick or small skewer, for garnish
Pour tequila, juice and lime syrup in a shaker with ice and shake. Pour everything, including ice, into a glass. Garnish with two apple slices held together with a toothpick or small skewer, plus a sprinkle of seeds.
Sweet Spirit
Makes one drink
Because everyone should be able to have a celebratory drink, including children and those who don’t drink, here’s a fun non-alcoholic mocktail.
5 ounces plain, unsweetened almond milk
1 large tablespoon strawberry preserves
1 ounce chocolate syrup
Ice
Soda water
Rainbow sprinkles
Straw
Place almond milk, strawberry preserves and chocolate syrup into a shaker and shake. In a 10- to 12-ounce glass, add ice and soda water to just below halfway. Add sprinkles, then pour drink mixture into glass. Top with more sprinkles and a straw.
